Coincidence of the Influenza Epidemic Attacks with Special Lunar Months in Iran

Abstract

Introduction: In outbreaks of influenza in a country it seems that religious rituals play an important role (such as Hajj) and regional rituals (such as Ashura mourning). The objective of this study was to determine this relationship in Iran. Methods: In this cross sectional study we evaluated the frequency of admission of patients with diagnosis of influenza in a central hospital in Isfahan, Iran; in different lunar months, from January 2010 to January 2016. At the end we analyzed our data by SPSS-22. Results: In this study 873 admitted patients were studied. The total count and the mean of frequency of patients in first till the 6th lunar month (Muharram till Jumada al thani) were significantly more than the number of the patients in the other 6 lunar months (P = 0.003). Conclusion: We emphasize more preventive actions from 12th lunar month (Dhu al Hija) until 6 months later in Iran (and other Islamic countries) because in these months in religious rituals contact between people will happen more frequently.